Forging the Future
by warriorseadra
Summary: Adrian never intended to die, but he did and now, to his dismay is back as a devil. Now he must face this new future, accept what he's become, and move forward with his new life. However, he might just loose it again before accomplishing his new goal. OC, Runs parallel to the original story.
1. New life

Life

By: Warriorseadra

"Uhhh," I groan getting up.

Sitting up on my bed, I look down at my hands.

"I'm... not dead?" I question my predicament.

I must be fighting too many monsters. But, that seemed too real to be a dream. I could have sworn that beast ripped me to shreds, literally.

As I shiver at my recollection, a warm hand places itself on my shoulder. I look up and see a young woman smiling at me.

"Relax," she says, "everything is ok now."

I blink. This girl, although she isn't drop dead gorgeous, she's pretty cute.

No, that's not important right now. Instead, something isn't right here.

Realizing this, I observe my surrounds and discover that I neither know where I am, or recognize the people before me. For some reason, the room seems to be on a train and other than the young woman, there are two males here too.

"Finally awake I see." The taller one says. "Now, you're probably really confused right now, but if yo-"

I jump out of the bed and punch the guy's face. Swirling, I form a sphere out of my ki and from my hands fire it at the other male.

"Demons!" I shout, "What do you want with me?"

I see, this must be their doing.

"Ca-calm down, we just want to talk." the first male says.

"I will have nothing to do with demons!"

This is neither my first encounter with demons, nor will it be my last. But I will definitely never succumb to them. I'll die before that happens.

"Fufu," the female giggles, "But haven't you realized it yet? You're a demon too."

The words chill me to my core. That just cannot be true!

"Blasphemy!" I retort.

"No, it's true." The second male backs the female, "Just check for yourself."

As I look inside myself, I fall to my knees. As they claimed, from within my body emits demonic energy.

How repulsive...

"What did you do to me?" I ask glaring.

"I resurrected you." The first male responds.

"What!" I ask.

"That dream you just had wasn't a dream. You really did die against that monster. Your ability interested me, so I brought you back as one of my family members. Congratulations, you are my new bishop."

"Go to Hell."

He brought eternal damnation to me because of my ability? I'll kill him!

"Later, but first allow me to introduce myself. My name is Godai."

"I'm Selena." The female from before introduces herself.

"I am Seijiro." The other male, who's carrying a bundled object, greets me.

"""Welcome.""" They all say.

"I'll kill you." I respond.

"Wo wo wo, I just gave you a second chance to live. Shouldn't you be more, happy?"

For all I know, my death may have been doing!

"You cursed me to Hell. How could I be happy!"

"You could avenge your death by getting revenge."

"I've no need for something as petty as revenge! Forget it, I'm going home."

"Wait." Seijiro calls out. "That won't work."

"Why not?"

"Because, even though you were resurrected, you still died and a lot of people saw your body. If you go back now, you'll probably be killed again for being a witch."

I froze. So not only am I cursed to eternal damnation, but I can't even go home!

"Arghhhhh!" I scream, "Fine then!"

I only have one choice left, to do God's work as devil and pray for forgiveness. Ow, a slight pain runs threw my body.

"Looks like you're ready to listen now." Godai notes. "I should probably start from the beginning. I'm a low class devil and I aspire to become an ultimate class devil! Only then will I be able to completely do away with the old traditions and families and restructure the underworld!"

That sort of makes sense. From what I recall of Hell, various demons lords exist ruling over lesser and minor demons. So this Godai must want to take the place of one of those demons. If this is true, then I could use him to my advantage.

"Even though we now have a new Hell in place, many of the old families and traditions of old Hell still exist. Because of that, only high class devils and higher are able to enjoy life as a devil while the rest of us devils scrape away at the bottom trying to stay alive. Sure, in theory low class devils can move up in rank, but that's only for those with connections. Regardless if whether a devil is pure blood or not, we will forever remain in class we are born into, unless we make those connections."

"You lost me, what do you mean by pure blood devil?" I interrupt.

"A pure blood devil is a devil descended from pure devils, like me. Non-pure devils are devils who were not born as pure devils or where made into devils after death, like you." Godai explains. "But as I was saying, I want to change this underworld into one everyone can get ahead, regardless of blood or connection! I want for true equality to exist for all devils! But first I need strength, which is why I brought you, Selena, and Seijiro back to life."

This guy is full of passion, but I wonder how much of it is true.

"I don't understand, why not just resurrect an entire army if you need strength?" I pick at a major flaw in his story.

"You've misunderstood." Godai corrects me, "Resurrection is only a recent discovery made possible thanks to the evil chess pieces, aku no koma. All high class devils are giving a set of chess pieces to resurrect a family of servants."

That sounds pretty selfish.

"What, are there not enough devils that there's a need to increase the population? Are you guys preparing for war?" I ask

"No, the opposite. Not long ago, the devils, fallen angels, and angels had a great war. The end of the war resulted in the death of many devils, including our leaders, the Maou. To increase the population of devils back to former numbers, we bring creatures of other races back to life as devils. This also furthers the diversity of abilities present among devils."

Like mine...

"Ok, so why do you have aku no koma when you're a low class devil?" I ask.

This guy just leaves too many unanswered questions in his story. Not sure if I can believe everything he's telling me, but it doesn't make sense for him to completely lie to me. I mean, I could probably cross check this information with other devils later.

"To be completely honest, I found them."

A devil that tells the truth, huh?

"Not too long ago, I was training and found the queen, bishop, and knight pieces in a river. I looked for around for the rest, but those were all I found. Therefore, there won't be anymore devils joining us. Still, knowing I now have comrades puts me at ease. I'm now no longer fighting the entire underworld on my own, I have a team." Godai finishes in a relieved tone.

Well, the story and answers flow pretty well now, and there's really no reason for him to lie to me. I mean, I could always confirm the truth about his story with other devils.

"Listen," Godai begins again in a serious tone. "The only reason I have chess pieces is because I found them. Again, chess pieces are only reserved for high class devils, so for me to own some is probably a crime. If anyone asks, you tell them you're just a low class devil, nothing more. Officially, the four of us are merely a team of devils who have banded together as Freelancers. A small service I run where we do odd jobs."

"You run a shop?"

"Yeah," Godai sheepishly admits. "If we want to change the underworld, we're going to need status, and one of the few ways to gain status is by serving other devils. The better our results, the better customers we'll get. It's a slow process, but better than nothing. Other than that, we'll have to spend our time training and getting stronger. We'll need strength for our revolution."

"Allow us to reintroduce ourselves," Seijiro speaks out. "I am our knight, Seijiro. I'm from Japan."

"I am our queen, Selena. I'm from Europe."

That's really specific.

"I am our king, Godai. Adrian, as our bishop, welcome to team Freelancers."

What a weird group of people.

"So, what comes next?" I ask.

"We return to the underworld." Seijiro answers.

"On a train?"

"No, we don't get such fancy service, the train's just taking us to the entrance." Selena replies.

…..

Off the train, we walk deep into a forest. Due to my ability over ki, the forest seems really eerie to me. Ki isn't anything special, it's life energy everyone is born with. I was born with a rare ability to naturally detect and manipulate the ki my body generates. I can detect ki, project it, and manipulate the flow of ki to an extent. However, I'm not too good at it. In my fights against monsters I've only barely been getting by. But I can sense ki well enough to tell that this forest is super creepy.

I look at the others and see they are also find the forest disturbing, although they don't seem to be as bothered by it as much as me.

"Why is the entrance located in this forest?" Seijiro asks.

"Because it isn't a proper entrance." Selena replies. "It's a secret one."

"A secret entrance into the underworld." I repeat, "Like the one Dante used?"

"Yeah," Godai responds, "In truth, I'm not allowed to be out here. The human world is only assessable to privileged devils, and I'm not one of them. I snuck out here find suitable people for my team, you guys. Now we need to get back before anyone notices I'm gone. But be careful, finding monsters out here isn't rare. There's a good chance we might be attacked."

That explains why a lot.

"You mean like that thing that's been following us for the past mile or so?" I ask pointing my thumb back.

"What thing?" Godai asks facing me.

"Don't know, I never felt anything like it before, but its ki is repulsive."

The others also turn and take a stance readying themselves for battle.

Seijiro unwraps from his bundle a katana and Selena raises her fists.

A deep, loud stomp radiates from the forest behind. As I turn and prepare my self for the battle, a small tremor shakes the ground.

I swallow and take a deep breath to relax myself. I can't fight if my body is tense.

As the tremors get closer, the tree branches before us spread apart and a large crocodile mouth comes into view. As the beast roars, a row of large, sharp teeth are revealed. Within the trees I see that the beast has fur covering its body, but also sense an appendage growing off to the side.

'Must be a tail.' I reason.

"A bunyip." Godai names the creature, "Odd, we stayed away from bodies of water."

"Maybe it's hungry?" Selena points out, "Bunyips do have a taste for women."

"Aren't you two too relaxed right now?" Seijiro asks while focusing his attention on the bunyip.

"Meh." Selena responds blasting the beast with lighting.

Odd, that bolt fills me with a sickening feeling.

I focus my attention onto Selena and, as expected, find her smoldered within her demonic aura. But bellow even that, at her very core, comes something else.

It's as though her very existence is a poison.

"Look out!" Seijiro shouts returning my senses to the battle.

From the corner of my eye, I see something sweeping towards me.

Its tail! I realize.

Instinctively, I avoid it by jumping.

"Naghhhh." I groan untangling myself from some tree branches.

I must have over concentrated and placed too much ki into my legs, causing me to over shoot my jump. No, that's not right. My focus is no different from before, but for some reason, I have better control over my ki now.

I create a sphere of ki and toss it at the bunyip.

Yep, normally I need more time to create a ki sphere of that size. But, I don't think that's everything. Since I became a devil, my body has also felt different, like there was more strength flowing threw it. When we entered this forest, I felt that strength rise even more. Thinking about it, it's really dark in here too, yet I can see just fine. I can clearly see myself waving my hand in front of my face as though it were day. Just how much has my body changed since becoming a devil?

An explosion deafens my ears. As I look back towards the bunyip, I see Seijiro jumping into the monster's chest, delivering a slash. But, that speed. He's almost like a blur. From the monster's back flies out blood tracing the cut.

With an insane cutting ability too...

As the beast stumbles back, Godai also jumps onto the bunyip's chest and delivers a few punches. He then kicks himself off. The bunyip regains its posture and roars, then the parts of its body where Godai punched start to swelling. They continue swelling to the point of where they're about to burst and then...

**Boom**

One by one, each swelling explodes.

The bunyip falls on its back motionless.

Godai has an interesting ability, but if it's limited to punching like that, it's not too practical. Well, it's his ability, he's probably aware of the limitations.

"Is it dead?" Seijiro asks.

"Look's like it." Selena responds walking up to him.

"It's dead." I announce jumping off the tree. "I don't sense anymore ki coming from it."

I feel a sting from my arm and examine it. I scraped it. I place the palm from my other hand over the wound and focus my ki. Slowly, the skin begins to grow back until it's fully healed.

Yep, my control has improved. I've never been able to heal myself so quickly or easily before.

I feel the others staring at me so I look up.

"What?" I ask.

"Your injury..." Selena asks, "What did you do? Its healed."

"I channeled the ki in my body threw the injury and accelerated my body's natural healing ability." I respond.

"That's pretty convenient." Godai smirks.

"If you have any cuts, I might be able to heal them too." I continue.

"Might?" Seijiro.

"I've never succeeded on healing others, but now I seem to have better control over my ki."

"That's because your now a bishop." Godai explains. "Depending on the chess piece used on the resurrection, the person receives a boost in some of their stats. Knights like Seijiro gain super speed, while rooks gain amazing power. As a bishop, you've gained better control over magic."

"Ki isn't magic." I point out.

"No, but it must be similar enough."

"What do queens and pawns get?" I ask.

"Queens get all of above." Selena responds smiling. "Could you heal my shin? The bunyip's tail whipped me."

I crouch down and place my palm on a bruise Selena reveals beneath her jeans. I close my eyes and focus my ki into her shin. I find her body's ki flow and mix my ki into it. Then, like a current, I guide her ki with mine and improve Selena's circulation of ki with an emphases on extra ki threw the shin. Opening my eyes, I remove my hand. The bruise vanished.

It worked! Finally, I can heal others! But, her ki... it's different. It's neither human or devil. Then, is reincarnation not limited to only humans?

"If you had any pawn pieces," I ask, "could you reincarnate that bunyip?"

"I could." Godai responds.

"What abilities would it get?"

"Pawns don't really have any special abilities when reborn other than gaining the base abilities of a devil. Although, they can promote themselves into any other class piece, besides a king, if given permission."

"What kind of changes do we get for becoming devils?"

"You might have noticed during the battle, but your overall physical strength has increased. You may feel lethargy during the day, but that'll pass with training. Other than that, you've gained devil wings, night vision, and become multi-lingual."

"I can speak any language now?"

No, I refuse to use those symbols of evil called wings.

"Kinda, when you speak to Seijiro, it sounds like English to you, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, in truth, he's probably speaking Japanese. The same is for him, you speak English to him, but he hears Japanese."

Oh, so this is an automatic translator. That's pretty convenient... Gahhhh, no, no, no! I scold my self. I can't let myself be tempted like this! Please forgive me! Ow!

"Something wrong?" Seijiro asks.

"No-nothing." I quickly reply, regaining my posture. I cannot allow myself to fall, I won't let them tempt me. I'm only going with them because I can use them.

Turning my head away from the others I say, "We should get going."

…..

"We're almost there." Godai informs us. "The entrance should be a cave along this hill side."

"Does anything live in that cave?" I ask.

"No, why?"

"I feel something down in that direction."

"It could be another devil."

"Or maybe a fallen angel."

Seijiro and Selena both offer suggestions.

"It doesn't feel like a devil, but I don't know what fallen angels feel like."

"Well, what can you tell us about it?" Godai asks.

"It makes me think of dog, but it feels nothing like a dog. I know, I've never felt anything like it before. Then again, I've never felt anything like this forest or many of the creatures inside. I'm seriously being over loaded with all these new strange creatures."

"You can distinguish each creature by their ki?" Seijiro asks.

"Yeah, every species is different and has its own type and flow of ki. Then, each individual organism has its own unique ki flow, but that's a little harder to pick up on."

"What about reincarnated devils?" Selena asks.

After a moments silence, I slightly turn my head towards Selena. "I'm not sure what their ki will feel like considering they were something else before becoming devils. I'll need to meet some more before I can give a definite answer."

"How far is your range?" Godai asks.

"Since I've reincarnated, I'm not sure. Before it was one mile, so now I'm guessing about three."

We continue walking towards the cave.

Godai stops walking and holds out his arm. He motions for us to silently gather around him and whispers, "Now that we're closer, I feel its magical presence. The creature at the entrance of the cave is a cerberus."

"The three headed dog?" I ask.

"Yeah." Godai confirms.

Well, that makes sense considering where we're going.

"This is going to be tricky." Godai informs us, "We can't kill or hurt it."

"Why not?" Seijiro asks.

"You also think it's guard?" Selena asks.

"Yeah, but I'm not sure from who." Godai confirms.

Could different factions be fighting for power? I'll have to ask after this.

"Adrian, can you sense anyone or anything else?" Godai asks, "Maybe a different type of ki on the cerberus?"

"Ki is not the same as a scent!" I retort, "It doesn't stick onto others. But no, I don't feel anyone else and inanimate objects don't produce ki."

"So, how are we getting past it?" Seijiro asks, "Can we put it too sleep?"

"I could, but the spell would take a few minutes." Godai responds. "Someone is gonna have to distract it."

"Leave that to me." Seijiro volunteers, stepping forward.

"Great, just keep the beast running around within the clearing in front of the entrance."

Seijiro jumps out and dashes away. Thunderous barking fills the air.

The rest of us walk forward and stop once Seijiro being chased by the cerberus comes into view.

That beast is huge. It's at least as big as a hippopotamus.

"Watch over me." Godai commands Selena and I as he gives his full attention to the beast.

Seijiro continues running around in circles. Due to his smaller size, Seijiro nimbly avoids the beast, even when he gets cornered. Although, fear is clearly visible on Seijiro's face. We can easily tell he's giving his all to avoid getting killed, again.

The beast slows its pace and it's three heads begin to lower. It then stops moving altogether and lays down on the ground falling asleep.

"Nifty spell." Selena comments.

"Yeah, but it still needs work. Casting takes too long." Godai responds.

A spell that slows down another's metabolism. That gives me an idea.

"Common, let's go before it wakes up again." Godai hurries us into the cave. Seijiro rejoins us at the mouth.

"What did you mean earlier?" I ask as we proceed down the cave.

"About what?" Godai responds.

"About not knowing who set the guard. Are the devils divided?"

"Well, the underworld is occupied by two forces, devils and fallen angels. Normal angels reside in heaven. But the two sides of the underworld each fight each other for territory and it isn't uncommon for something like a watch dog to be placed at these entrances for protection."

"I have one issue." Seijiro intervenes, "I thought devils could teleport. Was I mistaken?"

"No, we can."

"So why didn't we teleport to the cave, or better yet, the underworld?"

"Too dangerous for devils like us running around without permission. Someone else could easily detect us, and then usurp the spell."

"Really you two." Selena sighs at us.

I'm sorry for not knowing these things...

* * *

A/N: The we have it, my first highschool DxD story. Now, although Ise and the Gremory cast may be mentioned within this story occasionally, they won't really be making any apperances. This story is about the Freelancers and their growth along their quest to reform the underworld. Review please!


	2. Eria

Eria

New Life

By Adrimiz7

* * *

"Grruahhhh!" This is such an annoying task. Where is that stupid cat? I stumble, fall, and roll down a hill side.

"This is such- a stupid- task! They would ha- ve been able to- find- this animal- just fine!" I shout between my bounces down the hill. Just because I can sense ki, I was giving the task of finding that lady's cat. Why does she have a cat? She's a devil, since when do they keep pets?

"Uffff!" I lose my breath thanks to a rock stopping my roll.

I gather my senses and search for ki as I rise back onto my feet. Still nothing...

"How does someone lose a cat on a mountain!" I explode, I can't take it anymore. I swear, that person is just making fun of us. When I find that cat, I'm gonna eat it!

I start to walk off, but I force myself to a stop.

No, calm down. Getting angry won't solve anything. If anything, it'll just end up making this situation worse.

I sit down, close my eyes, and breath.

In threw the nose and all the way down threw the stomach. Bellow the naval, swirl it in a sphere, then release. Up the body and out the mouth. Repeat this process a few times and settle down. Now, for the search. First, to open myself and let the surroundings in. I need to feel the nature around. Ughh, how repulsive. It has a slight demonic feel to it.

In truth, I don't need to do this. I could walk and preform my ki searching at the same time. However, giving my current state of mind, this is more effective. To properly use ki, one needs to stay calm and relaxed. If not, then ki usage gets sloppy and get exhausted faster. This process lets me calm down an focus. Also, when I do this, I'm less distracted and I can extend my search radius much further than normal.

I still don't sense any cats though. I wonder if that thing is even on this mountain. Heck, I wonder if it's actually a cat or something she just calls a cat.

I get up and continue searching. I use to enjoy opening myself and feeling nature. But here, everything has a slight taint to it. My first night here was just hell, plain and simple. My sensors were completely overloaded with the demonic presence. Thankfully, I grew accustomed to it after a few nights. But that first night was horrible. Sleep is when I'm at my most relaxed, and the more I'm relaxed, the better sense the presences of others. Speaking of which...

I raise my arm to the side and from my hand I fire a ki sphere into the brush.

"Grawwww!" a creature roars leaping forward.

Gathering my ki into my legs, I jump to the side and avoid a slash from what looks like an over-sized tiger. A quick sense of its ki reveals an overwhelming demonic presence. It's stronger than me.

"No matter, most my enemies are." I murmur while leaping over the tiger to avoid its pounce. While above it, I thrust my arms forward and fire a blast of ki from my hands to the sky before me. The force changes my momentum back towards the tiger where I land a kick onto it's neck. From my foot I blast the creature with my ki. Only this time, instead of forming a sphere that attacks the outside of the body, I let the ki blast unrestrained. The ki enters the beast's body delivering massive damage.

The tiger falls limp on the ground.

"Not it's weak point, but good enough."

…..

"That can't even be considered training." I lament recalling my recent match.

Still, it help alleviate my boredom. Now, if only I could find that stupid cat, or kitten as our contractor called it.

_I hear the bell chime signaling someone is entering the lobby. From my seat, I see Godai get up and enter the lobby. I hear him say, "Good morning, is ther-" _

_ I ignore the rest and look back to my book. Learning these letters is more important. Being multi-lingual only extends to speaking. If I want to read, I'll need to learn the alphabet. Like it or not, this is my new home._

_ "Adrian." Selena calls me threw the doorway interrupting my studying. "Godai needs you in the office."_

_ How troublesome._

_ "I'll be right there." I reply putting on my shoes. I don't like wearing my shoes unless I go out. When I'm inside, I walk around in my socks, but I keep my shoes nearby just for situations like these._

_ "Did you call for me?" I ask entering the lobby._

_ "Adrian, this is Ms. Louis." Godai introduces me, "She lost her cat the other day and would like for us to find him."_

_ "Good morning." I greet her with a smile._

_ She looks me over and then turns back to Godai, "Are you sure, he looks pretty pathetic."_

_ ...Shut up you witch._

_ "Believe me Ms., Adrian is the best qualified for this task."_

_ "If you insist." _

_ "Now, would you please describe the situation for us?" _

_ "I took my kitty on a walk a few days ago. After a while, we stopped and had some lunch by a lake. A fish jumped out of the water and caught his attention. My kitty took off chasing the fish and didn't come back no matter how many times I called him. I hope he isn't hurt."_

_ "Got that Adrian?" Godai asks, "You are to go out there and find this lady's kitty."_

_ I don't want to..._

Actually, why a mountain? What kind of people go for walks on mountains? Whatever, let's just- gyuu.

My stomach growls interrupting my thoughts.

Guess I'm hungry. I'll stop for lunch.

I create a teleportation circle and return home. It's a nifty spell, the first one I learned when I came to this world. Since magic is a semi-subconscious ability, there isn't much I can do but use it. However, I do find a big difference between these humble new inborn abilities and showy new inborn ones.

Godai says that the upper class' teleportation circles have their crests representing their houses as part of the design. As low class society members, we cannot place a crest in our teleportation circles and can only use the default square in a circle crest. For some reason, placing a crest is a high offending crime.

In the kitchen, I grab a sandwich I had prepared earlier and some orange juice. I look over a map and see a lake is near where I was standing earlier. I return to mountainside and proceed for the the lake. There, I sit down, and eat my meal while expanding my senses.

Still nothing...

I send the remains of my meal back home, rise, and enter the forest to continue searching.

I think I've been here before...

"Grahhhhh!" I grab my head in frustration, "How annoying!"

I duck off to the side and let a shadow fly over me. The shadow lands, revealing itself as the tiger from before, and turns leaping back towards me. A tree obstructs his path and he resolves the problem by biting threw it. I jump back and allow to land in front of me

"What? You want to go again?" I ask.

…..

"Can't even call this an after meal exercise." I sigh shaking my head.

"Well, good luck getting out from under that tree." I call out walking away.

I wish there were stronger monsters to fight here. I was really looking forward to encountering some wild mountain boss who would challenge me for entering its territory. But no, the lady had to lose her cat on some peaceful mountain.

"Gyahhhhh!" I'm falling, the ground I was on collapsed and now I'm falling, again! Wait, that's a ledge in front of me. No, I'm going to fall off a ledge! First thing's first, I have to stabilize my self!

Using ki blasts, I change from tumbling down a hill side into sliding down one on my back. I fire more ki blast from my feet to stop myself, but it's no use. I can't stop myself and I slide off the edge.

Way down at the bottom of the ravine I see water, theres also this thunderous roar echoing up. Sure enough, I see a waterfall on the side. But this is really high, I've got to be over 50 meters up.

I fire ki blasts and position myself over the lake. It's better falling on land. I then fire ki blast downwards in an attempt to slow my fall. My ki isn't strong enough to sustain myself afloat, but I can slow my descent.

Still, this is going to hurt. I'm about ten meters from the water. I gather as much ki as I can and bring it to my hands. Now I'm about 7 meters from the water. I strain myself and send even more ki towards my hands which I place palm over palm over at my side. Three meters from the water now. I thrust my palms forward, wrist on top of wrist, and fire all the ki I had gathered.

"Haaaaaa!"

The water explodes and my fall is cushioned. Laying in the water, I look up towards the sky.

"I'm alive... ha ha..."

I finish taking a deep breath and swim to shore. I crawl out of the water and collapse. Laughing, I roll onto my back.

"Hahaha, I thought for sure I was going to die, again. Hahaha!"

…..

"Nmmmm..." I moan as I wake up. Must'ave fallen asleep... That was a lot of ki I fired back then.

I recall my final blast.

I guess it's too soon for that. Same with flight... Ki isn't infinite. The amount one has can be raised by training. But expelling too much at a time is exhausting. Then, maybe once I get stronger...

I lay on the ground a little long and then force myself into sitting up. I take a few more deep breaths and begin opening mysel-

Wait, there's something else here.

Opening my eyes, I struggle to my feet and sense my immediate surroundings. In the bushes, I find some sort of creature. It has an overpowering presence, but it feels more natural and not demonic.

Hey, I'm learning how to distinguish ki! No, I'll be happy about that afterwards. Right now, this creature is more important. Within the natural presence, I feel something similar to a reptile. It's weak, but it's in there. At the moment, that lizard thing is only watching me.

Maybe it's hostility depends on my actions?

Remaining still, I spread by radius and feel someone else is in the water. I am able to distinguish whether someone is a person or a creature. Although, this person is like the creature and feels natural instead of demonic. Maybe I can ask for some information? I step towards the water and the lizard leaps from hiding, ready to deliver a punch.

So, this guy is guarding the lake... I jump turn with a kick sending the creature to the side. Actually, this thing isn't lizard like at all, it resembles a humanoid reptile. From it's masculine body and loin cloth, it must be a male too. I don't get why it has blue scales though. Still, I should be careful of its tail.

The reptile-man jumps up and rushes me. I dodge the rush, and he lashes his arm out at me. I block it with my own arm, and he shoots to sweep me with his tail. I counter by stomping on it.

We disengage and distance ourselves. We stand and wait for an opportunity. But this guy, he's trained. I can tell from the way he moves. This is the first time I've met a monster who practices martial arts. Fu~n!

…..

I swing my arm up and block his swing. With my opposing leg, I kick to the reptile-man's side. Since we're fighting hand to hand, I'm using my ki to increase my body's mobility and defense while using ki blasts to increase my offensive capabilities. Due to my lack of training, I can't use it as a full body cover, instead I have to use it as the situation calls. Being low on kit doesn't help my situation either.

The reptile-man jabs. It's to close to dodge, gotta block. Gathering my ki, I quickly bring up my arm and deflect the strike full force with my forearm. If it wasn't for the ki enhancing my arm, it definitely would have shattered there... What a punch. No matter, from here I can strike it.

I thrust my opposing hand forward and strike the reptile-man's weak point. Due to his training, it's small, but that's still enough for me to take advantage of. The weak point is the area where one's ki is most strongly in flux. Depending on what a person is doing and their state of mind, their weak point will change. By training the body's efficiency, it can be lowered. Training in ki can help eliminate the weak point altogether, not that I've eliminated mine yet. Currently, his is in the stomach, and with a full burst of ki, I strike it.

The reptile-man falls to his knees clutching his stomach. I deliver a kick and send him crashing into a tree. Truth be told, one doesn't need ki re-enforcement to take advantage of weak points. A normal strike is more than enough. Being able to sense ki just makes it easier to locate and a ki blast makes the attack more devastating.

I hope this battle is over now. I've been micromanaging the ki I was able to restore the entire match, which is exhausting by the way, and now I'm running low again.

Great, he's getting back up... He's charging! Did I only make him mad?

"Tch!" I dive for the reptile-man's leg, but my plan to trip him fails as he leaps up. Leaving me on my side, the creature demonstrating great acrobatics by swings himself around a tree branch back down towards me head first. As I stagger to move away, the reptile-man, places his arms into an X and dives onto my back.

"Guwahhh!" I gasp losing my breath. If it wasn't for my ki, my spine would have turned to dust.

Grabbing my legs, the reptile-man begins spinning. I focus the last of my ki and expel it into my foes body threw my legs. My attempt to escape succeeds and the beast releases me.

"Grawaaaa!" the reptile-man cries in what sounds like shame.

Don't ever underestimate a ki user.

Looking up, I see that I'm flying back towards the lake... Darn, I don't even have energy left to swim. Wait, there's a woman bathing in the water. She's beautiful... I'm lucky, I get to see this before drowning.

…..

"Nmm-uah..." Slowly, I open my eyes and sit up. Clutching my head, I look over my surroundings. I could have sworn I was going to drown... I freeze, I'm captivated by eyes so majestic, it's as though I'm starring at the ocean itself.

"You're finally awake, I see." She smiles.

I am completely captivated by her.

"You almost drowned, you know."

"O-oh." I struggle to respond, "Did you pull me out? Th-thank you."

"Don't," she coolly stops me from expressing any further gratitude. "just answer my questions."

"Sure..." I blink. I don't understand.

"First off, you're a devil right?"

So that's what it comes down to. She's cautious because of my new lineage. It makes perfect sense, a quick scan of her ki reveals something like nature, the same from before. Where she comes from, they probably consider people like me enemies.

"Yes." I finally answer.

I feel a pressure tighten around my body. I didn't notice it earlier, but there are binds all over me. They feel a bit like water.

"I new it..." she grimnesses lowering her head. Her bangs fall and cover her eyes with hair. Hair so gentle and blue, it's like ice on a bright spring morning. "But it doesn't make sense. There's no way Gigo could have thrown him into the water. Not when he has wings..."

My wings... something I gained when I was reincarnated. These bat like wings are something all devils have. I'd rather die than use them. Besides, if it's flight, I have a different method for it in mind. Not that I can use it yet.

"Ok you devil, what are you are you trying to pull here?" She angrily questions me, "Why weren't you using your wings?"

What is with her and my wings?

"Listen, if you don't talk, I'll have Gigo go wild on you!"

Next to her appears the reptile-man from before. I should have realized it earlier, he's protecting her, not the lake.

"Well, are you going to talk or not!"

"My name is Adrian." I finally respond. If that reptile-man, Gigo, goes wild on me, I'd probably die, again. "I was sent to this mountainside to look for a lost cat."

"So, that creature is your fault!" She accuses me.

"No."

"Then what's your relation? Do you know what kind of danger that thing brought to this ecosystem?"

"My contractor hired me to retrieve her cat for her. But how dangerous could it be, it's just a kitten."

"A kitten?" she asks in disbelief.

"Yeah, my employer kept calling her kitty, kitty, kitty."

"..."

"What?"

"You're just here to take that abomination home, right? Nothing else?"

"Yeah."

Abomination? How dangerous could a little cat be?

"I'm going to loosing your binds, but if you try anything, I won't have Gigo hold back! Understand?"

"Yes..."

…..

"So, are you going to tell me who you are?" I eventually ask to break the silence.

"What's it to you?" she responds defensively.

"Well, I can tell... you're different. You're like nature herself."

"Obviously, I am an elf!"

Really, I thought elves where blond and had long ears...

"Quite looking at me like that! I'm a water elf, not a holy sun elf!"

I see, there's more than one kind of elf.

"Do you have a name?"

"What's it matter to you?" She again asks defensively.

This is going to be a long hike, I can feel it.

"Well?" She demands

"No, never mind..."

We continue walking, only the sound of shrubbery being moved is heard.

"Why don't you have your wings out?"

Again with the wings... Meh, might as well answer. It's better than the silence.

"I don't like them."

"...What?" she responds disbelievingly

"I don't like them. They're just... wrong. It's one thing to have these demonic abilities, but another matter manifesting them on my body."

"Liar! Everyone knows devils are proud of their wings. You always flaunt them whenever the opportunity arises!"

Hmm, I get the feeling devils are an arrogant race.

"Now tell me the truth! Why don't you use yours?" she cries tightening my bindings. Behind me, I hear Gigo growl.

"I am telling... the truth."

"Really now! Then would you swear to it?"

"Yes, I am honestly... telling you the... truth when I say... I hate my wings. Amen – Ow!"

My binds slacken allowing me to rub my head. I notice my companion is staring at me in shock.

"What?" I question her.

"You asked for the lord's blessing... No devil would do something so suicidal." she gasps.

"What do you mean?" I ask completely ignoring my cover. By this point, I've already blown it.

Gently, I feel my binds weaken and vanish. Hey, are you going to explain or just stand there?

"You're a reincarnated devil, aren't you? I see, no one explained it to you. Well, devils can't ask the lord for his blessing or they'll receive damage."

That does make sense. Devils are beings who rejected the lord... I don't care, I'll continue to pray, amen. Ow.

"You're... different from them."

What? Well yeah, I'm not a devil, not deep down at my core if that's what you mean.

"So, who are you?" I ask once more. Maybe now that she's calmed down, she'll answer.

"My name is Eria. As I mentioned, I'm a water elf."

I didn't have time to think about it earlier, but I don't see any ears. Maybe they're hidden beneath her hair?

"You've already met Gigo, he's my familiar. We're here to remove that creature from the forest."

That makes sense, but... I still don't understand why you're here...

"What's with that confused look?" She asks making a face. I have to say, it's quite cute.

"Wait," she says making a look of realization, "Where you recently resurrected?"

"Yeah, a little less than a week ago."

"I see, then you probably haven't learned this world's history." She nods to herself. "More likely, if anything, you're still learning how to read."

She's right... But these reactions of hers, they're funny. I can't help but chuckle.

"Stop laughing!" She says, now making an angry face. "You're confused on why there's an elf in the underworld, right? Well, I'll explain it to you now. Long ago there was a great war between the Devils, Angels, and Fallen Angels, who better known as the three great factions."

I recall Godai mentioning something like this.

"Well, during the battle, the two heavenly dragons began fighting each other and disrupted the great war."

I didn't hear anything about that, though.

"Due to the danger those dragons were causing, the three factions worked together to defeat and seal them away. After that, they continued with their war. Eventually the war ended and consequently, the former maou died. Sirzech took charge of the devils and society got to where it is now."

I blink... That... That sounds horrible. What happened to being almighty? If anything, it sounds like the three sides reached a truce after exhausting too many resources. Although, Godai did say that the current population had reached an all time low.

"Now, after all that fighting the elven lands were completely destroyed. Realizing this, the new maou of the devils came and gave us land in the underworld to live in. We've done our best transforming it into what it is now. Even the elders say it feels just like out old ancestral homes."

"These woods feel just like normal underworld territory to me."

"This is a bit outside our borders, but a disturbance in the ecosystem here will affect us back home. That's why we're here to put a stop to it."

That makes sense. From what I learned when I was human, everything in the world is connected, disturbing one thing will lead to another.

…..

Eria blocks my path with her arm stopping me. I got careless and let myself get distracted with our conversation.

Not good, I berate myself scanning my surroundings.

"It's here." She whispers raising her guard. Even Gigo has his arms up looking alert.

Really, I don't feel any cats walking around. I don't feel anything dangerous either.

"Growr!" I hear a cry vibrate around us.

Slowly, a tiger walks into view while baring it's fangs.

"Careful." Eria warns as I breath out in relief.

I casually step forward much to Eria's dismay.

"A-Adrian, what are you doing?"

"Is this the cat we're looking for?" I ask ignoring her question.

This tiger is so covered in demonic energy, it doesn't even feel like a feline. I give the now quivering animal a closer examination and discover some traces of feline ki. Is it possible that this was a normal tiger, but only became like this after absorbing too much demonic energy? Do they consider animals like these as pets in this world?

Hmm, I wonder.

I take a step forward and the tiger lowers its head. With each step, the tigers becomes more and more submissive with it's pose. By the time I'm beside it, it's laying entirely on it's back.

"What...?" Eria questions the scene before her.

Around the tiger's neck, I see a collar that reads 'Kitty'.

This... was so... misleading. She really is making fun of us!

"Ho-how did you do that?" Eria asks, cautiously walking forward.

"Truth is, I've encountered this animal seven times already."

* * *

A/N: Wow, this is delayed. Sorry everyone, I was busy spending the last few months writing a travel abroad application. I told myself I wouldn't write fanfictions until it was finished to help motivate me. Needless to say, it didn't work. But that's done and I'm back. I promise I won't make disappearances like that again. By the way, I'm also working on a Fruits Basket Christmas Special story with Leafeonlover. I believe it will be on her account when we publish it, but I'll be posting a notice on my account once it's out. I hope you all read it.

Thanks for reading and reviewing. This is Warrior Seadra.

Ja ne


End file.
